Material handling refuse vehicle or the like



Jan. 11, 1955 A. c. MILLER 2,699,268 MATERIAL HANDLING REFUSE VEHICLE OR THE LIKE Filed Dec. 16, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet l WWW TTORNEY Jan. 11, 1955 A. c. MILLER MATERIAL HANDLING REFUSE VEHICLE OR THE LIKE Filed Dec. 16, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 r i P m! 7% ATTORNEY Jan. 11, 1955 A. c. MILLER 2,699,268 MATERIAL HANDLING REFUSE VEHICLE OR THE LIKE Filed Dec. 16, 1950 I5 Sheets-Sheet v 3 ATTORN United States Patent MATERIAL HANDLING REFUSE VEHICLE OR THE LIKE Adam Carl Miller, deceased, late of Lakeland, Fla., by Myrtle E. Miller, administratrix, Lakeland, Fla., assignor to Myrtle E. Miller and Carolyn Harriet May, both of Lakeland, Fla., and George Vance Miller, Monterey, Calif.

Application December 16, 1950, Serial No. 201,203 6 Claims. (Cl. 214--501) This invention relates to vehicle bodies and particularly to the type of body now used for sanitary garbage collections. It will be understood, however, certain elements thereof are equally applicable to self-charging and discharging bodies for trucks used for handling other materials.

commodate a considerable weight of material before a trip to the final disposal place is necessitated. The volume of refuse and garbage material as collected includes very large percentages of fluids, including air and water, both in empty containers and in the vegetable and other material collected. for efiicient collecting that most of the boxes and the like be collapsed before the material is added to the load within the vehicle body. Various devices have been previously supplied which compressed the material after it was added to the vehicle load, but it will be seen that this allowed transfer of much of the water from material freshly collected to that already in the load and attempted to compress the fresh material in large quantities either against the entire contents of the truck or against a barrier placed therebetween which itself pressed at least partially upon the truck load so that compression was never complete. None, so far as the applicant is informed, compressed the material outside of the vehicle body, removing air and water there-- from and compacting the whole to a solid charge before introduction to the body load, as does the present inven tion.

Previous inventions have cal controls for actuating the trols have necessitated added employees at multiple control stations, and none have provided instantaneous stop of operation at the command of any employee at any point where his or a felloW-workers safety was threatened.

The herein-disclosed invention provides all of the above desirable features, and at the same time removes many of the mechanical parts, rods, cams, levers and gearing heretofore thought essential. The actual reduction in weight of parts employed is a very real improvement accomplished by this invention.

Reference to the appended drawings and description will show preferred embodiments of my invention.

Fig. 1 is a diagram of an older type of garbage collection vehicle showing diagrammatically some of the parts employed and the position of the hydraulic units controlled by my new system when applied to such vehicles.

Fig. 2 shows the hydraulic system of the truck shown in Fig. 1 with the actuator device applied thereto.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the actuator device with a part thereof sectioned for purposes of description.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of part of the device shown in Fig. 3 and is taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a cross-section to enlarged scale of the actuatcr device shown in Fig. 3, a portion thereof being broken away for space reason.

Fig. 6 shows the manual selector for the devices shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, with its cover removed.

provided various mechanivehicle parts but such con- Fig. 7 shows the electrical system for the devices heretofore mentioned.

Fig. 8 shows the preferred form of vehicle body, the body being broken away at the top thereof for purposes of description.

Fig. 9 shows one end of the improved loading hopper.

Fig. 10 is an external elevation of one end of the hopper.

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the: device shown in Fig. 9, is taken on line 11-11 of Fig. 9 and shows the compression part of the hopper in closed position.

Referring now to Fig. 1, garbage collection trucks of the type mentioned commonly include a frame 20 where on is pivoted a closed body 30, pivoted on said frame as at 32 and adapted to be lifted on said pivot by hydraulic cylinder 34 for dumping purposes. Body 30 is commonly provided with a tail gate 36 pivoted at 38 to the main body and tail gate 36 is usually operated by such means as hydraulic cylinders 40 carried on the vehicle body. Tail gate 36, in this type of body, carries a swinging ram 50 pivoting on trunnions 52 and actuated by hydraulic cylinders 54 which act upon levers 56 to swing the ram 50 against material placed within the tail gate. Ram 50 is commonly provided with a lift door 51 which may be swung upward (see dash lines) to put material within the tail gate and swings inward to a position indicated by dotted line 53 when pressure is exerted by the hydraulic cylinders.

In the past, it has been common to provide levers, cams and detents on the side of the tail gate to operate the machinery thereof, but these are here omitted as now unnecessary.

bearings on the vehicle frame and body after the fashion well known to the art. Valve V is operated through a selector S by the electro-vacuum actuator A and the piston 80 having the heads 81 and 82 controls the ports 83 and 84 leading to piping 69 and to the hydraulic cylinders, as shown in Fig. 2. The space between the heads 81 and 82 of the centralized.

It will be understood that each of the units of valve V is similarly constructed and that each independently controls cylinders 40 or 54 or 34.

Actuator A which provides the driving power for the units of multiple valve V is provided with a piston rod which journals upon its end a collar 102 bearing a clutch finger 104. Collar 102 is further provided with an integral lever 106 to which is attached the clevis 108 of control cable 110 extending through the tube 112, to the hand pull 114, sliding at 116 in the casing 120, commonly fixed to the vehicle cab floor beside the drivers finger 104 can thus be turned upon piston rod 100 to selectively engage clutch forks 105, 107 or 109 as will be seen by inspection of Figs. 3 and 4, thus causing actuator A to work the required valves and hydraulic cylinders for body hoist,

tail gate lift or loading ram, as desired. Piston rod is attached to diaphragm through such means as the rod head 132 and is packed where it leaves diaphragm shell as at 142 in Fig. 5. Diaphragm shell 140 is divided into two chambers 144 and 146 which communicate through passages 147 and 148 with chambers 152 within the body of the solenoid valve 150. Solenoid valve is provided with plungers 154 and 155 to which are attached spherical valve heads 156 and 157 normally urged against seats 158 and 159 by such means as springs 160. Solenoid windings 164 and 165 are provided with terminals 167, 168, 169 and 170. Plungers 154 and 155 are loose, sliding fits within the solenoids 164 and 165 and the body of the solenoid valve 150 is provided with small vents 172 and 173 opening into the solenoid bore, so that chambers 152 return to atmospheric pressure when valves 156 and 157 close. Valve seats 158 and 159 open into passage 151 connected to the intake manifold of the vehicle engine and apply negative pressure to chambers 152. Thus the operation of the solenoid valve and the diaphragm chamber (which together form the actuator) is as follows: if current is applied to terminals 168 and 170, plunger 155 will be drawn back against spring 160, pulling valve 157 from its seat and opening connection 151 from the engine intake to chamber 152 and passage 148 and chamber 146, drawing diaphragm 130 to the right, pulling diaphragm piston rod 100 and clutch finger 104 also to the right and (provided clutch finger 104 engages fork 105) pulling valve 80 to the right, opening port 83 to the sumptank and port 84 to the pressure of pump P. Pressure passing through port 84 will in turn communicate through piping 69 and 70 to one of the hydraulic cylinder units already described.

The electrical control system is perhaps best understood by reference to Fig. 7 wherein the battery (Bat.) is grounded to the vehicle frame 20 as at 150, while its positive lead 153 is extended through a plurality of normally closed switches 152 arranged about the vehicle body adjacent to the moving parts and to the drivers position. It will be seen at once that opening any of these switches 152 stops all current flow, terminates the negative pressure upon diaphragm 130 and permits springs 189 to centralize valve 80, instantly locking the hydraulic cylinders in whatever position they may be an arresting all movement of vehicle parts in any direction.

Referring again to Fig. 7, a control board 171 is conveniently mounted for the vehicle driver on the steering post of the vehicle. Upon this board are mounted a safety switch and a cycle-switch, as diagrammatically shown in the figure. Up and Down switches are mounted in selector pull casing 120 as shown in Fig. 6 wherein lever 190 rocks in slot 191 in the casing front tilting bar 192 to depress one switch or the other. Spring 194 secures the inner end of lever 190 and limits the effective pressure on the pushbutton type Up and Down switches whose electrical connections are shown in Fig. 7. One side of each of the solenoids 164 and 165 is connected to the terminals of the Up and Down switches and also to terminals 173 and 174 of the cycling switch 175 which is here shown (with cover removed) mounted adjacent the hydraulic cylinder 54 and connected to the piston rod 55 thereof through such means as the switch rod 177 bearing the stops 178 and 179. Insulating bar 180 of switch 175 slides upon rod 181, mounted in the switch case. Upon either end insulating bar 180 bears a switch blade 183 and 184 and it will be seen that as this insulting bar 180 is pushed one way or the other by stops 178 and 179 on switch rod 177, switch blades 183 and 184 connect contacts 173 and 174 with contacts 185 and 186 respectively or open the connection between such contact pairs. Tracing the wires 187 and 188 to the cycle-switch will show that when this switch is closed, contacts 185 and 186 are connected to terminals 157 and 158 and back through ground 189 and the vehicle frame 20 to the grounded end 150 of the battery (Bat.). Examination will show that as the piston of hydaulic cylinder 54 nears the end of its stroke, switch 175 will be thrown to energize a reversing solenoid (either 164 or 165). The diaphragm 130 will be drawn one side or the other, valve 80 pulled to the opposite end of its stroke and the motion by hydraulic cylinder 54 reversed. The particular cylinder 54 whose operation has been described is that actuating the ram 50 in Fig. 1, but it will be understood that similar cycling switches 175 may be attached to any of the other cylinders which have been shown. For instance, it may be advisable that in the dumping operation, the truck body be raised and lowered several times while the ve hicle is driven slowly forward and it will be seen that the vehicle driver can easily accomplish this by holding the cycle-switch closed, while he moves the vehicle.

To enable ready understanding of the control portion of my invention, it has been described in connection with a well known form of closed body garbage collection truck, but it is, of course, equally applicable to other forms of material handling trucks and is the preferred control for my improved closed body mechanism shown in Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11, wherein body 200 is provided with guide rails 202 over which slides collection hopper 210 secured thereagainst by shoes 212 after the fashion well known to standard elevator practice. Guide rails 202 extend downwardly over the back of the vehicle to a bottom stop position 204, as indicated in Fig. 8 bringing the hopper 210 to a level below the waistline of the average employee and below the top of the average garbage barrel, so that the same may be dumped therein with a minimum of physical labor. The upper ends of guide rails 202 are preferably curved into opening 201 of the vehicle body, as shown, and a stop 205 at the end of these rails arrests the hopper 210 in its discharge position as indicated by dotted lines. Hopper 210 may be operated over rails 202, through such means as the cable 206 running to and operated by the multiple hydraulic hoist 207 which forces apart sheaves 208 and 209 to draw upon cable 206. Hydraulic cylinder 207 is preferably provided with cycling switch 175, whose operation has been described.

Hopper 210 is provided with a back 220 upon which hinges front 222 by means of a pivot shaft 224, preferably extending throughout the length of the hopper. Upon the outer ends of shaft 224 are mounted arms 226; to those extremities are secured the ends of cables 206 by clevices 228. Encircling the cables 206 are opening springs 230 whose ends contact abutment 232 secured to back 220 and the sides 221 upon sides 221 are guide sheaves 234 pivoting upon studs 233. Operation of this mechanism will be clear when it is seen that retraction of cylinder 207 permits cables 206 to lower hopper 210 upon guide rails 202 to its charging position. The hopper 210 is then loaded by dumping garbage cans and throwing refuse material therein until full. Closing of the cycle-switch shown in Fig. 7 causes cylinder 207 to pull upon cables 206, drawing up lever 226, rotating shaft 224 and pulling upward front 222 with great force so that the material 240 is compressed, as shown in Fig. 11 and empty cans, bottles, jugs, brush and the like crushed. Compression also squeezes out much of the water in the material and this drains through openings 242 to a suitable container or to the roadway. Crushing and dehydrating the material at once reduces its weight and decreases its volume many-fold. Cycling switch 175 is preferably so set, through its switch rod 177 and stops 178 and 179, that as soon as the compression has been effected, as shown in Fig. 11, cylinder 207 is reversed and spring 230 effect-- ing the initial separation from the material 240, front 212 drops back to an open position, thus permitting refilling of hopper 210 without delay. It will be understood that this squeezing operation may be repeated several times before hopper 210 is fully loaded and that each time a comparatively small volume of refuse material is thoroughly compressed and dehydrated without affecting the main load within body 200. It is also possible by the simple holding of cycle-switch, front 222 will recrush the material in hopper 210 several times and further compact it. When this has been accomplished, release of the cycle-switch and pressure upon the upswitch will cause cylinder 207 to continue its full stroke, drawing hopper 210 upward over the rails 202 to its limit at stop 205 where release of the up button will allow spring 230 to open front 222 and discharge the compacted material in the body 200. Pressure upon the down button will then lower the hopper for refilling. Body 200 is, of course, provided with the usual tail gate and body dumping mechanism similar to that which has already been described in connection with the other body type.

In Fig. 9, something more than one-half of hopper 210 has been omitted for space reasons and it will be thereof. Also mounted understood that the opposite end of this hopper duplicates the end shown so far as mechanism is concerned.

For purposes of description, the improved control and hopper system for garbage and the like material collection vehicles have been shown in connection with well known forms of vehicle bodies, but it will be understood that they are equally applicable to the many other different types of both closed and open truck bodies used in garbage and material handling and it will be at once manifest that many of the elements of the invention may be used independently of the whole and in cooperation with other elements supplying similar functions.

What is claimed is:

1. In a self-loading vehicle body having an outside loading hopper with raising means therefor outside of said body, the hopper structure which includes a hopper wall hinged to a second wall of said hopper at one of its edges, spring loaded means opening said walls each away from the other so that material may be placed therebetween and compression means operated by the hopper raising means and squeezing the aforesaid material between said walls to extract fluids therefrom before raising said hopper on said body to load the body.

2. In vehicle bodies of the self-loading and discharging type, a loading hopper, a hydraulic operator for said hopper, a tail gate, a second hydraulic actuator for said tail gate, a tilting body dump, a third hydraulic actuator for said body dump, a multiple control valve, piping connecting said hydraulic operators with said control valve and with a pressure supply tank and pump, a diaphragm actuator for said valve, a vacuum valve controlling said diaphragm actuator, solenoids operating said vacuum valve, an electrical circuit including a source of power, said solenoids, a cycling switch on said hydraulic hopper operator, manual control switches at the operators position, stop switches adjacent the moving parts of said vehicle, including said hopper, said body and said tail gate and a selector clutch between said diaphragm actuator and the units of said multiple valve, said selector providing means whereby the operator may connect said diaphragm actuator to that unit of the multitple control valve controlling the hydraulic operator for said hopper, said tail gate or said body dump, as desired.

3. In a self-loading truck, an enclosed body having a top-loading opening, an elevating loading hopper outside of said body, raising and lowering means for said hopper, compression means within said hopper but outside said body and independent thereof when operating to dehydrate and compress material placed therein and actuator mechanism for said raising and compressing means.

4. In a self-loading truck provided with an enclosed body, a loading hopper sliding over said body to charging and discharging positions thereon, a charge compressor in said hopper and operable while said hopper is in charging position to compress material placed therein, elevator mechanism attached to said body and said hopper to elevate the hopper thereon to the discharge position and to lower the discharge hopper to the charging posi tion, a hydraulic system providing power for all of the elements enumerated and electric control means for said hydraulic system whereby the same may be selectively operated automatically and manually.

5. In a self-loading truck provided with an enclosed body, a load hopper moving over said body to charging References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,910,026 Lima May 23, 1933 2,254,083 Nickles et al. Aug. 26, 1941 2,430,973 Boissonnault Nov. 18, 1947 2,456,434 Manthie Dec. 14, 1948 2,487,729 Richardson Nov. 8, 1949 2,508,877 Walker et a1. May 23, 1950 2,509,388 Biszantz May 30, 1950 2,511,556 Wood June 13, 1950 2,557,142 Reitz June 19, 1951 2,561,608 Boissonnault July 24, 1951 2,622,748 Feidert Dec. 23, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 794,268 France Dec. 12, 1935 797,517 France Feb. 17, 1936 628,189 Germany Mar. 30, 1936 

